


For the Love of a Child

by disabledSociopath



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-07 17:24:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20313241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disabledSociopath/pseuds/disabledSociopath
Summary: After Miller's Daughter. Regina finds and casts the spell to make Henry love her, but spells and curses and magic are always tricky things.





	For the Love of a Child

“Hey, watch it!” 

A boy, a scrawny type of kid, reared away from the man he bumped into. He maneuvered out of the way quickly, did not even stop to apologize. The man, exasperated and clearly in a hurry, didn’t bother thinking of the boy again; just went back to blending into the busy street. 

It was better that way, the boy thought. Pausing and stopping just to apologize would mean the harried business man would have paused and stopped as well. He can clearly imagine what would have happened: the man would have stood there feeling the weight of his coat lessen, would have shouted for the whole world to hear and the boy would have been found; caught red handed. Not that anyone has caught him in so long.

Still, the boy ran, winding through several alleyways just to be sure. 

The boy shivered as water and wind blew on his face. He could feel the rain soaking into his worn hoody and melting into the shirt he had underneath. His shoes squelched upon every step on the pavement, and somehow he didn’t mind that. It felt like something he shouldn’t have been interested in, but things can still amuse a boy despite everything that’s happened, he guessed. As much as he would have loved to stay under the rain, play as every child would have, he couldn’t. It was okay if the clothes and shoes he was wearing was wet, but his backpack with all of his meager belongings was another thing. He needed to find shelter. Wherever that is.

Hotels are no good, that’s for sure. Too expensive and most likely than not, someone would call the police or child services if he didn’t get a good act up. Hell, even with a perfect act, there’ll be a high chance of that happening anyway. Motels are better, but he’d need a hefty bribe so that the proprietor doesn’t call him out. He clutched the thick wallet inside his hoody pocket. He had better things to spend on than tipping some schmuck who’ll waste it on booze. 

Soup kitchens were good. He could pretend to be someone’s kid again. Someone might call him in, but it’d be lower probability and he could hightail it out of there before anyone comes for him. Yeah, he could definitely do that. He’d have to ask around where the nearest soup kitchen is though. He’d been travelling too much to know where the nearest one is.

The boy stopped as he passed a shop. Between the smell of the rain and the heavy scent of the city, he could smell something that made his mouth water. Fuck. He had to leave.  
Before he could even take a step, a loud rumbling went off and the boy groaned. He ignored it. It was the rain. Despite the fact that it was waning, it was the rain. It had nothing to do with the pain in his gut. If he ignored it and just tuned into his squelching, squishing shoes, then maybe he could amuse himself enou-

The rumbling set off again and, damn it, even his head hurts. He couldn’t ignore it. Just his luck. He hasn’t even found someone who could lead him to a soup kitchen. To get away from the rain, to get into dry clothes, free food…

The boy grit his teeth as the pain in his gut and his head throbbed again. He sighed. He turned his head to the bakery next to him and inhaled all the delicious bread he couldn’t eat. Stroking the wallet in his pocket, he thought about what he should do. It… it couldn’t hurt, he guessed, if he bought something now. Just a loaf. Just one loaf…

Looking to his left and to his right, he slunk into an empty alley and went behind a dumpster. He took out the wallet in his pocket and dug inside. He scowled as he mostly saw credit cards fattening it.

“Useless plastic,” he grunted as he threw them in the trash one by one.

He paused in the middle of throwing another one when only a picture was left inside. The last card dropped to the ground and he sat. He sat there for a while; next to the dumpster as if in a trance. His hand stroking the picture absently.

A bell rang loudly and he jerked from his seat on the dirty, alley floor. He quickly took the money from the wallet, a measly $20, hesitated, before taking the picture as well. He threw the wallet in the dumpster and went out into the street again. 

The boy turned his head briefly to take one last sniff at the bakery before turning away. With only $20 on him, he couldn’t afford to use it now. He would have to find that soup kitchen. There’s bound to be one somewhere in this city. The thought fuels him to seek out places with people who know. 

Fortunately he did.

A homeless man on the side of the road knew the way. It was hard to get the details out of him. His voice was rough and congealed and he coughed too much to get the words out clearly, but he had a dog who was friendly. They were hiding from the rain under a roof of cardboard boxes. 

The man tried to say the directions again, but another raging cough interrupted him. The boy scowled again, irritated. He left the man between his coughing fits, the dog drooping as his new friend went away. But the boy went back.

Scowl still firmly up on his face, he immediately threw a paper bag to the man, “thanks for nothing, old man.”

The homeless man jerked as the paper bag hit his chest. “I-I’m really so-“

“Whatever.” 

The boy left as soon as he came. The man sat confused for a moment, then opened the paper bag. Inside was a bottle of cough syrup and a dog treat.

oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

No money. No shelter. No food.

That was his situation then and that is his situation now. It’s been three days. He had some luck with restaurant trash cans in the city. Got some scraps here and there between those three days, but shelter has been hard to find. The constant rain made it even harder. He may need to brave it out under a bridge again. Hopefully, the bridge he finds won’t have some shifty druggies and dealers under them. Best scenario would have more homeless people having a fire going on.

And thank fuck, that’s what he found.

One of the homeless people, a woman named ‘Carrie’, gave him a tin of beans when he asked for food. It wasn’t much but it was heaven to him and his starving stomach. He was also given a blanket, but was told to give it back later on. ‘Carrie’ was very insistent of this, probably thinking he will take it with him and leave her without. He didn’t care much for it. His backpack was already full and it was best travelling light. He scurried away from her tittering and sat on a corner where he could see everybody, but nobody could see him. He removed his bag from his back and curled the blanket over his body. 

Thinking about earlier, he took out the picture he found in his wallet. It was of a woman and a child. The child could have been anyone, but with his brown curls, the boy had no difficulty imagining it was him. His eyes lingered on the woman, her face filled with a look of such love. Love he’d never felt. With his blanket curled over his wet body, the fire roaring in the distance hypnotizing him, he could feel his eyes drooping.

“I wish…”

oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

In a forest with a well surrounded by trees, a woman stood. Despair and longing clung to her as she blew on a scrap of paper; watched as the dust glittered down a hollow well.

“…I have someone who loves me.”


End file.
